Zenith
by chlorineobsession
Summary: And when her eyes settled on his silhouette, it felt as though a whole new dimension had come into existence. He wasn't the same, but neither was she. That's what time did to people after all. [Shikamaru x Temari / Shikatema AU]
1. Chapter 1

_**Please review!**_

In spite of knowing Shikamaru for over five years, it still surprised her how much of an impact he could have on her each and every time he made an appearance in her life.

With her quick wit and steely gaze, she had trouble written all over her, but the kind of trouble that he somehow kept coming back to. Him on the other hand... He was passive and laid back. Mellow to the bone.

Perhaps at this point, backtracking would be a good idea: They didn't start off on a good footing.

Quite the contrary.

* * *

They hated each other at first, as can be expected.

Temari had worked hard to get into her course in college, studying for hours on end and cramming right to the last minute, but him? He just breezed through his exams like they were as simple as a stroll through the park.

She watched the dark haired boy slouch out of the exam hall a half hour before the exam had even finished and she was seething that some arrogant little punk would waste such a precious opportunity, but seeing him on the induction day for the advanced chemistry course came as a blow to her ego.

That little bastard, showing her (and all the other applicants) up by treating the exam as something trivial and unimportant but still getting the top grades...

She wasn't the only one who was pissed off at him, but she shrugged it off and got over her anger: These things can be expected.

What pissed her off the most though, was being paired with him during the experiments.

That's when she found out more about him. His name, his habits and his lazy personality, and, frankly, he infuriated her more than anyone had ever managed to in the past.

Again, she pushed aside her rage and got on with her work, determined to apply herself for the year in front of her.

She didn't snap until they were put in charge of cleaning a month or so into the first semester.

The group of thirty students had been working on an acid-base titration to neutralise a sample of hydrochloric acid and find its molarity, and it was her and Shikamaru's turn to clean the lab.

The experiment had run smoothly for them, as always. They exchanged very few words, but neutralised the solution before any of the others had, and only spoke when telling the other to open or close the tap funnel, or swivel the conical flask.

As the rest of the group filtered out of the lab, they wordlessly threw away the samples and wiped down the countertops. She didn't mind the silence, that was how they worked on their experiments after all.

She was in the process of sealing the volumetric flask filled with hydrochloric acid when she noticed him reaching to close one of the windows that were higher up.

Watching him, she saw him move to stand on the tips of his toes and reach for the handle with his slender arms. She had never noticed that he was so skinny for a man his age.

He shut the window in a swift notion before turning to look at her, his eyebrow arching instantly.

"What?"

His damn eyebrow made it look like his question was an accusation and she scowled, a little flustered.

"Nothing," she hissed defensively, clenching her fist on impulse, forgetting completely that she was right beside a container of hydrochloric acid.

Her knuckle hit against the flask, which tipped to the side and shattered on the counter, completely covering it in the acid.

"MOVE AWAY!" Shikamaru yelled, rushing towards her to push her further from the spill.

"Shit!" Temari hissed, as she shuffled backwards and covered her face with her forearms and felt some of it splash onto her. _Why_ had she removed her lab coat?

When she let her arms drop to her side, she saw Shikamaru looking at her with a worried expression.

"Did you get any on you?" He asked, sounding oddly concerned.

She nodded and moved to the sink, turning on the cold tap and running the water along her arms and hands.

"Just a bit." She said quietly, feeling dumb.

He pulled on protective gloves and began cleaning the counter, sweeping the glass into the recycling bin and wiping the acid with cloths and then binning them.

She pulled her arms out of the sink and reached for a towel to dry them off, but his hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back towards the sink.

"W-What are you-"

"Keep rinsing your arms for at least five more minutes, the molarity on that sample was three,"

"I know it was three," she snapped. "I just helped you to do the fucking calculation, didn't I?"

Taken aback, he let go of her shoulder and shook his head.

"You don't have to be so damn stubborn all the time," he murmured, sounding defeated. "You're going to get burn marks if you don't rinse that for ten minutes, it has only been about five."

She sighed and turned on the tap to continue rinsing her arms, feeling bad for snapping at him.

"Whatever," she mumbled, keeping her gaze on the water as it trickled from the tap.

He continue bustling about the lab and looking over at her occasionally as though she planned on running away from the sink. At one point, he brought her over a stool to sit on and she sank into it, muttering a word of thanks.

When he went into the back room to put the cloths away, Temari finally allowed herself to glance at her arms. She winced when she was met with red hands and peeling skin on the outside of her forearms.

Shikamaru strolled back in looking as nonchalant as ever with a clean towel slung over his shoulder. He sat on the high stool beside her and motioned for her to take her arms away from the water, which she found herself doing, in spite of hating that he was telling her what to do.

She rested her forearms in the fluffy towel and he very gently patted them dry, apologising when he touched off a spot that was particularly bad.

He rubbed her hands with the towel before lifting one of her arms to inspect it in the artificial white-lighting that the lab offered.

"You're going to need some kind of burn cream," he explained, looking annoyed. "It's not too bad though."

She nodded and thanked him before standing from the chair and shrugging on her jacket.

"Hey," he called, just as she reached the door.

"Yeah?"

"I'll walk you to the pharmacy. It's on my way."

Slowly, she nodded. She waited for him to pull on his leather jacket and follow her out, turning off the lights before shutting the door.

It was dark as they left the science block of their university and they walked quietly, as though speaking would make the other run away, because they were both silently surprised by how pleasant the company was.

When they reached the chemist's, Shikamaru opened the door and held it for her to walk through before following suit. They made their way up to the counter and he leaned casually against it as they waited for a store assistant.

After a few moments, a girl with dyed bubble-gum pink hair rushed out and welcomed them.

"Oh, Shikamaru!" She gasped as she looked at him. "How are you? It's been ages!"

Shikamaru shrugged in response but gave the girl a small smile.

"We have an acid burn victim here," he drawled, jabbing his thumb in Temari's direction. "Not too bad, but could you take a look at it for us?"

The pink haired girl beckoned Temari forward and asked her to take off her jacket to get a better look at the injury.

"Yikes," she frowned when she saw the skin. "When did this happen?"

"Forty minutes ago, give or take," Shikamaru answered, staring at Temari's arm.

The girl nodded and excused herself before bustling back into the storeroom.

"Where do you know her from?" Temari asked, trying to ease the tension of the silence with small talk. She stared at the polished counter top as she waited for him to answer.

"High school." Shikamaru said eventually. "She's close to one of my best friends."

Temari nodded and turned to look at him, only to find him facing the other way. Sighing, she looked back down at her arms.

"You don't have to stay here, you know."

"I know."

The pink haired girl walked back in with a variety of boxes and bottles and sat she sat herself opposite Temari with a small smile.

"I'll patch you up this once, but pay close attention because you'll have to change the bandages yourself."

Temari watched carefully as she applied a cream, followed by an oil and then wrapped her arms slowly and methodically in sterile bandages.

"Got it?"

"Got it. Thanks."

Temari payed for the products and gratefully accepted a short note of instructions on how to treat the burns for the next few weeks.

"They should be mostly gone in a month or two." She was told.

She and Shikamaru left the pharmacy a half hour after entering it, and Temari began walking home, vaguely aware that he was still walking alongside her.

"Do you live this way?" She asked, turning to look at him.

He nodded in response before burying his hands deep inside his jean pockets.

"Thanks for today," she said quietly. "You didn't have to do that."

"I know."

They reached a crossroads and she watched him cross to the left before turning right herself and walking home.

* * *

For the next week, there was an awkward silence between them.

During their next lab session, they didn't speak a single word to each other and stayed as far away as was physically possible without actually invading the space of other groups.

The experiment was simple, and when the session was over, they left along with the others.

"Hey Temari!" Came a voice from behind her. She recognised the girl who'd called her and nodded briefly in reply. They'd walked the same way home a few times as they both had lodgings in the same dorm building.

"We're going to the club around the corner. You should join us this time!"

After a second of hesitation, Temari nodded and walked along with the rest of the group, keeping her eyes trained on the figure of a dark haired man whose hair was lazily pulled back into a ponytail atop his head.

As the numerous group settled into a large booth, Temari found herself between the girl who'd invited her, Tenten, and a boy named Yuu.

The group wasn't close enough for drinking games, but Temari held a few enjoyable conversations with classmates that she'd never really spoken to before. Before she knew it, I was her turn to order the drinks and she stood up to walk to the bar, glancing in Shikamaru's direction only to find that he wasn't seated at the booth anymore.

Ignoring her mild curiosity, she made her way to the counter and placed her order.

"Your turn, eh?"

She recognised his voice and slowly turned to face him.

"Yeah, not shit."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"I'll help you carry it back."

"I don't need help."

He looked as though he was about to argue, but decided against it, instead strolling back to the booth with his hands in his pockets, his expression uncaring.

She hated him more than she could explain.

After a few more rounds, the group decided to turn in for the night and they stood to leave, exchanging goodbyes as they walked out into the chilly street.

She lingered by the doorway, waiting for Tenten in hopes of walking back with her.

"Cigarette?"

"Huh?"

"Cigarette."

It was a statement, and not a question.

She looked at Shikamaru as he extended a half empty pack to her and she slowly pulled one out and brought it to her lips without breaking eye contact.

She took her lighter out from her jacket pocket and lit the cigarette wordlessly before bringing the flame to his own cigarette that he had just pulled from the pack, cupping her hand around it to keep it from being extinguished.

"I didn't know you smoked," he said eventually as he watched her take a long drag.

"I'm trying to quit." She said shortly.

"Yet you carry your lighter with you?"

"Yes." She kept her eyes on his, not wanting to back down. The memory of his blankly apathetic face in the pub played in her mind, and she wondered why it stung so much to remember it. Why it hurt so much to have witnessed it.

And then she wondered why it was that she wanted him to feel just as hurt as she had felt back at the bar.

She lowered her eyelids at him subtly before moving to stand closer to him, causing him to take a step backwards into the redbrick wall of the bar.

His damn eyebrow shot up in that accusing arch and she wanted to punch him, but instead she reached for his cigarette and stubbed it out on the wall right beside his neck, watching with great satisfaction as he swallowed hard.

"Temari?" He asked.

"That's the first time you've said my name, you know." She said quietly, moving her eyes from his throat to his lips and smirking as she noticed him swallowing again. She leaned into him briefly before dragging her eyes up to meet his gaze. He let out a shuddering breath and Temari laughed gently before pushing off the wall and turning away from him, walking away into the night with nothing but the faintest ghost of his breath to remind her of their closeness as he'd sighed against her ear.

She smiled at the memory of his hopeful eyes as she walked home, satisfied.

* * *

The university's library was almost always empty at night. There would be the odd student roaming the shelves every now and then, but it was generally quite calm.

Temari had made a habit of going there to check out a few books for extra revision when there were no exams on the horizon. She preferred staying at home during exams because she knew that all the desks would be overflowing with cramming students right to the last minute in the library, and humans were a species that she just couldn't handle in large doses for prolonged periods of time.

The winter exams had just ended, so Temari made her way across from the science block to the library after the last experiment session of the term. She had a few books to return, and her WiFi at home was slow so she figured she'd check her emails on one of the computers there.

A warm rush of air greeted her as she stepped through the automatic doors and made her way to the front desk, dropping the books off in the returns basket as she passed.

She picked a computer on the second floor to sit at and she logged in to her email, skimming through ads and bank statements, pausing only every once in a while when something caught her eye.

After a half hour, she logged off and stood from the computer, gathering her things and pulling on her coat as she went.

She was startled when she nearly bumped into a figure that was reaching for a book on a high up shelf as she turned a corner.

Her tiny gasp of surprise as she stopped in her tracks to keep from running into him caused Shikamaru to turn around and face her.

"You're still on campus?" He asked casually, turning back to the shelf and pulling down the book he'd been taking before she'd interrupted him.

"No shit."

She saw him roll his eyes as he flipped the book around to scan the blurb, and then put it back on the shelf. He faced her again and looked a bit surprised to find her standing there.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing. Why?"

"You're still here."

"Oh _I'm sorry_ ," Temari snapped. "Is my presence bothering you?"

"Yeah." He said coldly. "It _is_ , actually."

"And why is that?"

He looked at her incredulously and shook his head.

"As if you don't know," he grumbled, shoving past her and heading for the stairs.

"Hey, wait just a second!" Temari grabbed his arm and pushed him into the bookshelf, thanking the fates for the fact it was screwed to the ground.

"What's your problem?" She growled.

His eyebrows were raised so high that she was surprised that she could still tell them apart from his hairline.

"You. _You're_ the problem, Temari." He pushed her off of him and made his way down the stairs, calling over his shoulder:

"You're gonna _kill_ me if you keep pulling shit like that."

Confused, Temari walked behind him, and they left the library at the same time.

"Shit like what?"

He arched his eyebrow again and sighed.

"You're too troublesome."

"Oh _am_ I?" She jabbed her elbow at him and chuckled as he rubbed his side, wincing.

Pulling out a pack of cigarettes, he extended it to her in a silent offer, which she refused.

"I'm giving them up."

"That's what you said last time at the pub."

"That's over a month ago. Time changes people."

He shrugged and shoved one of hands into his pocket, lighting the cigarette with the other.

"So, why are you like this?" He said after a minute of dead silence.

"Excuse me?"

"Why are you the way you are?"

"Nature and nurture I suppose," Temari sighed, knowing that that probably wasn't what kind of answer he was looking for.

"I mean why do you act like this with me?"

Temari stopped walking and he followed suit, glancing back at her as she crossed her arms defensively over her chest.

"What the fuck are you getting at?"

"Hmm, I don't know, maybe the fact that you don't talk to me in class and you avoid me during our group experiments, but you push me up against the wall in an _extremely_ suggestive manner outside the pub, and then you start talking to me at the library like we're friends or some shit?" He took a deep breath as he finished talking and Temari took a tentative step towards him before replying.

"Okay, you're just being dramatic. I don't _avoid_ you, I just don't talk to you."

"And the whole pushing-me-against-the-wall thing?"

"Friendly teasing."

"Friendly teasing?"

"Yup."

In an instant, Temari found herself standing between Shikamaru and the wall of the apartment building they had just been walking past.

His hands were pinned on either side of her face and his knee was between her legs.

"Friendly teasing?" He repeated in a husky voice, bringing his face closer to hers.

Temari shivered as she felt his breath feather down her neck. She looked up into his eyes and smirked.

"Why? Are you disappointed?"

His face was even closer now, and she knew that if she moved even an inch, her lips would probably end up brushing against his.

"No," he breathed. "But you're about to be."

He let one of his hands drop and skim past her neck and shoulder, resting on her elbow.

He frowned, and suddenly broke out of character.

"How are your arms?"

"W-what?"

"Your arms. How are they?"

"Oh. Um, they're fine. Almost fully healed."

He huffed and moved away from her.

"I was going to do what you did to me at the pub, but I got distracted."

Temari stifled a laugh and clapped him on the back as she began walking.

"Wow, Shikamaru. You left me trembling in my shoes." She drawled sarcastically, earning a glare from the dark haired man.

"I saw you shiver."

"That's because it's cold out here. It's winter you realise."

He rolled his eyes and they continued walking, side by side.

"Shikamaru?" She said as they reached the crossroads and he prepared to cross.

"Yeah?"

She looked him up and down before smiling at him.

"Copper," she called, turning away from him and walking home, wondering if he would figure it out.

 _ **A/N: Idk when the next part to this will be posted, but please leave a review, and also try to figure out what Tem meant by "copper" ^^**_

 _ **Follow/Fave/Review!**_


	2. Read me!

**[** ** _AN]_** _hey hi hello greetings etc, ChlorineObsession here ?_

 _I'm sorry for making an entire chapter dedicated to an authors note. I would only read this if you are genuinely interested in my fics because it's kinda long and probably boring *but* You might be interested by this so here we go!_

 _I have spent the past few weeks wondering whether or not to just delete the stories that I haven't completed yet along with possibly disabling my account. This isn't because of anything specific, I just haven't been feeling particularly capable of finishing a lot of the works I'd started, and I also have exams in June which are pretty much gonna decide whether or not I'm getting the scholarship I've been working towards for the past 3 years, so I suppose I've been rather busy._

 ** _However._**

 _Writing does bring me a lot of joy, and I've begun writing for a different fandom on a different site. I've made some incredible friends through this fandom and it made me realise how detached this community is, which is why I've decided that instead of just scrapping what I've got so far, I want to try improving it instead._

 _After my exams in June, I will begin working on remastered versions of all the fics I decide to continue with, as well as reaching out to people for support with these fics._

 ** _This is where you come in!_**

 _I'll be looking for some help and outside opinions regarding how I change my stories and perhaps start some new ones. This will be in the form of editors, beta readers and just anyone willing to listen to my rambling._

 _For this, I'm hoping to set up a discord server. For anyone who doesn't use discord, it's an app usually used for gamers as far as I'm aware, but it's just really handy for communicating/planning and forming a community._

 _If you're interested in giving a hand, meeting other people within the fandom and also getting support for your own fics, hit me up in the comments or in pms. If I get enough interest, I'll launch this initiative and we can help boost this (kinda withering) community._

 _I'll add in more details if I see it fit to do so!_

 _Let me know what you think,_

 _~Lee_


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